Land Use & Zoning

What is 'rezoning by initiative' in Rhode Island?

AA developer-initiated rezoning application

BA citizen-initiated ballot measure to change zoning regulations✓ Correct

CAn automatic rezoning triggered by demographic changes

DA state-mandated rezoning of all coastal properties

Explanation

In some Rhode Island municipalities, citizens can initiate a referendum to amend the zoning ordinance or map. This is rezoning by initiative—a democratic mechanism allowing voters (rather than the governing body alone) to decide zoning changes.

People Also Study

Key Terms to Know

Zoning

Local government regulations that control land use by dividing areas into zones specifying permitted uses, building sizes, and densities.

Variance

Official permission to use land in a way that does not conform to the applicable zoning ordinance, granted by a zoning board when strict enforcement would cause undue hardship.

Eminent Domain

The power of government to take private property for public use, with the requirement to pay the owner just compensation.

Adverse Possession

A doctrine by which a person can gain legal title to another's land by openly, continuously, and adversely occupying it for a statutory period.